How do you guys dry your wood?

[luckydozenfarm]

I was cutting wood for an old timer here last weekend and he was surprised that I would buck the logs immediately after dropping a live green tree. He said he always heard that if you drop it and let the sun and air dry the wood out through the leaves you get more of the sap moisture out of the wood than from bucking immediately. It made sense, but I figured I'd see what you guys thought.

He said the leaves suck out moisture deep in the wood you wouldn't normally get all out just by bucking and splitting.

Any thoughts?

 

[luckydozenfarm]

That's what I did because I didn't have time to come back later to get it. And it was only 5 trees..I'm not gonna make two trips out for 5 trees. But have you ever heard of that or is that an old wives tale?

 

[apn73]

He wouldn't be the first old timer that knew something that rest of didn't. I've never heard of that method and it sounds plausible on the surface, but those leaves wilt really fast and I don't they'll take 28% of the trees moisture away, could be wrong, but not feeling it. I've always heard that the bark keeps the water in the tree a long time, so it needs to split to facilitate good drying, that I've seen pretty consistent.

 

[RiverRocket]

Wood grain is like thousands of little straws....most of the moisture/evaporation is at the ends of the billet, so the faster you can get it cut into billet size pieces, the faster it will dry.

 

[REJ2]

Bet his theory wouldnt work to good on a pine tree

 

[medic8852]

Drop it, buck it, split it, and stack it on a plastic or wooden pallet and let em dry. Usually by fall/winter they are good to go. Sun and air do all the work.

 

[luckydozenfarm]

I took him to mean just until the leaves turn brown then buck, split and stack. He seems to think the leaves will pull out moisture as they dry up for that first week its cut down..

 

[Fifelaker]

I have heard of this. I have seen some tops that have had the leaves fall off and it is still wet so I don't hold a lot of stock in it. I cut and split as soon as I can, I know that will get it drying.

 

[groundup]

Test it with a MMeter, I will guarantee bucked split wood dries quicker

 

[stihl023/5]

I have seen leaves stay on and green for quite a while. Plus have heard it from many old timers.

 

[MrWhoopee]

With a towel, just like the rest of me.

My God, you guys are spending waaay too much time in here.

 

[jrider]

I have used his method and it has worked well for me. I am by no means saying it will take all the moisture out but it has sped things up for me. Let the tree lay until the leaves have burned to a nice crisp- this will take a few days to a couple weeks depending on weather, sun exposure, humidity, and wind, etc. then buck and split. I have cut live trees down near the end of August and easily burned the wood in December.

 

[jack_90125]

I'll have to ask my wife as thats her department.

 

[philoshop]

Waaaay too much indeed.
My old farmer friend says the same thing when I cut with him, "Just leave 'em, they'll dry quicker that way."
Translation: Let's go back to the house and have a beer.
I say, OK!!

 

[zogger]

I took him to mean just until the leaves turn brown then buck, split and stack. He seems to think the leaves will pull out moisture as they dry up for that first week its cut down..

I do that if felled in the summer with full foliage. I wait until the leaves shrivel up, then buck it up. In the winter with leaves off the tree, buck it up right then. Certainly *seems* drier to me, you can tell, the end branches will break off pretty clean, they lose a lot of springiness. Has to suck some moisture out. I think "how much" is the real question, I am guessing "enough" so that if convenient, it doesn't hurt. Only takes a week or two anyway. If I can get all the wood lighter before I have to start schlepping it around, I am all for that.

Guess if I owned a moisture meter it could be tested, say, drop a large tree, pick two close in size branches, say opposite sides of the tree or however would be the most fair as to daily sunhine hitting them and as per size, etc, strip all the leaves off one big branch, leave them alone on the otherbig branch. Wait until leaves shrivel. cut and buck both branches, check meter readings of the pieces. See if there is a significant enough difference to make it personally worthwhile to do it that way.

I have been doing it, but I would change if it really didn't make much difference, but it sure *seems* like it to me, but that is just anecdotal, I don't have any hard science to back it up.


I am 61, not sure if I qualify for old geezer status yet....neogeezer at least though...

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Hows this for a compromise. If you can buck it up that day then limb it and buck the tree up. If your not going to be able to buck up the trunk that day then leave the limbs and leaves on it. The leaves may pull some moisture out of the limbs at least. Lets make that the new old sage advise. If all you old geezers say it the young buck might believe it.

 

[sb47]

Letting the tree sit with leaves on will draw out a lot more moister then a tree felled in the winter with no foliage.
I also think buy bucking into rounds will achieve the same result.
Letting the tree lay till it drops the leaves does make it easer to buck with no leaves in the way.
Bucking and splitting will let the wood dry faster then anything else.
The more surface area you expose to wind and sun means faster drying time.
Another advantage of letting the tree lay is once you get back to bucking it, a lot of the moisture has evaporated and the wood is a little lighter and easer to handle.
Bucking and splitting green wood and letting it dry, makes the very best firewood and cooking wood, no doubt about it. The faster it dries the better the wood.

I think with the old timers it’s more of a laid back way of doing things.

For me, production and keeping wood on the lot for sales is most important.
So I like to get it split and stacked as soon as possible.
Some folks have the time and like me some don’t.

 

[greendohn]

Cut, split and stack it in the woodshed. The shed is 16x24, black with the sides open 1/2 way up the walls. Not much direct sunlight reaches the wood, but the wind seems to move thru pretty well and the black roof and 1/2 walls seems to really collect heat from the sun. Not optimal, I'd imagine, it's a work in progress.

 

[Whitespider]

"Green" leaves loose a ton of moisture to atmosphere... but whether-or-not waiting for them to die-off will make much difference depends on the "breed". Some trees felled will have their leaves die and fall off in just a few day, others may take weeks; I've seen felled Box Elder (a maple tree) sprout new branches and new leaves for months after being felled in early summer... that has to suck a lot of moisture from the wood before the tree actually dies. Silver Maple, on the other hand, will loose it's leaves in well under a week...

 

[CTYank]

There was a study done on this a few years back. Still trying to find the report, but the upshot was that there was, in general, no benefit to waiting until the leaves fall off. "Busted" as per "Mythbusters"?

Seems that one big difference between drying in place or bucking green would be the fire hazard. Dry leaves would be lit much easier (by exhaust of saw without spark-arrester). But still low probability.

Whatever happens with boxelder wouldn't have much relevance to real wood, nor with black willow. Both purely nuisances. :cool2: Whatever makes things simpler.